Spirally wound barrel closure



Dec. 17, 1946.l D,G,LES 2,412,576

SPERALLY WOUND BARREL CLOSURE Filed Sept, 22, 1945 ATTOQNEYS.

Patented Dec. l?, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in closures and methods for the production thereof.

The invention Vhas for its object the provision of a simple and inexpensive closure for barrels and the like, with an ideal section affording a maximum of strength in proportion to the material used, and providing an increased thickness of stock at the bung hole to assure a firm anchorage of the bung driven therein.

More specifically, the invention contemplates the spiral winding about a core of a strip of paper or the like of gradually tapering Width, starting at the end where the strip is widest, thus producing a barrel head or the like in the form of a disk which in any diametrical section will have its greatest thickness at the center and will thence taper in thickness toward its margins. As compared with any other closure, the device herein disclosed is less expensive, less subject to corrosion, less subject to puncture and shock, and will more readily receive a satisfactory coating and may readily be made on one piece of apparatus to any desired size.

As compared with a laminated paper head, the method of construction herein disclosed saves material. There is no waste in my method, whereas in laminating a paper head from disk stock there is a minimum of 25 per cent waste. Moreover, the method herein disclosed is much simpler and results in a stronger product in proportion to the weight. In relatively large closures the saving in weight becomes quite signicant.

Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon analysis of the following disclosure of my invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View, partially in side elevation and partially in section, illustrating the method of making a closure in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatusshown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail View taken in section on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged diametrical section through the completed closure.

Figure 5 is an enlarged diametrical section through a secondary roll formed as an incident to the construction of the closure shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view in diametrical section showing a modified embodiment, with one plane face.

Figure 7 is a View in diametrical section showing a modied embodiment, with two curvilinear faces.

Figure 8 is a view partially in side elevation and partially in section, showing reenforcing applied radially to any one of the heads illustrated in Figures 4 to 7.

Like parts are identified bythe same referenceY characters throughout the several views.

In order to explain my invention more adequately I shall assume some'specic dimensions, it being understood that these` are stated merely by Way of exemplication. Let it be assumed.

that it is desired to make up a conventional barrel head 13 inches in diameter, and that it is desired that the head be 1% of an inch thick adjacent its bung hole and 1/2 inch thick adjacent its peripheral margin. Depending somewhat upon the thickness of the web of paper, cloth, cellulose acetate or other stock to be used, it may be assumed that the strip which will wind the completed closure to the specified dimensions may perhaps be on the order of feet long. It will be wound in a parent roll 1, and its width, in the preferred practice of the invention, may be equal to the sum of the respective widths of the strip at its respective ends. In other words, the web or strip of material making up the parent roll 'l may be 700 feet long and an inch and a quarter in width.

The strip passes between the guide rolls 8 and 9 and past a slitter assembly generically designated by reference character l0, and past the adhesive rolls Il and l2 and is wound upon a mandrel l5, to which it is held by pressure roll I6.

The slitter roll assembly may be constructed in any one of a number of ways. Instead of a shear assembly, I have shown a pinch knife slitter in Figure 3 purely by way of illustration. Cooperating with a hardened die roll at I1 is a rotary knife I 8 mounted on shaft i9 for axial movement as determined by the spool 20 on shaft. I9 and a lever 2l engaging in such spool and urged by a cam 22 against spring 23. Mounted in fixed bearings at either side of the knife are pressure rolls 24 and 25 holding the margins of the web 30 tightly upon the die roll Il. Y

The roll 8 is mounted on a vshaft 3| which, through a speed reducer 32, drives the cam 22. Thus, as the web passes beneath roll 8 the slitting knife lis caused to gradually move laterally of the path of the web across the gap between the stationary pressure rolls 24 and 25 to produce an elongated diagonal cut separating the web 30 into two webs 35 and 36.

Web 3B passes directly from the die roll Il to a new parent roll 31 wound upon mandrel 38.

Only web 35 passes through the adhesive apparatus, being coated with adhesive delivered thereto from tank I4 by rolls I3 and I2 so that as web 35 is wound spirally about mandrel I5 it will adhere to previously wound convolutions upon the mandrel to make up closure 45, which is the ultimate objective of the invention.

Starting with the assumed web dimensions on the parent roll 1, and assuming the knife I8 to be initially at its extreme right hand position, as viewed in Figure 3, it will be apparent that the divided web 3S wound on mandrel 38 will be ver-y narrow adjacent the mandrel, as is indicated at 4I in Figure 5. The divided web 35, on the other hand, will have its greatest width close to the mandrel I5, as is indicated at 42 in Figure 4. The Withdrawal of the mandrel will leave at 42 a bungreceiving opening at which the closure 40 will have its greatest thickness, and from which it Will taper from a central thickness of 3A of an inch tov a marginal thickness of 1/2 an inch at 43.

The divided web 3B is not Wasted when wound into the new parent roll 3I but may be passed through apparatus identical with that shown in Figure 1 (save for the absence ofthe slitting roll) to Wind another closure which will then be identical With that shown in Figure 4. Re-winding is easy because no adhesive is used in making up the roll shown in Figure 5.

However, the roll shown in Figure 5 may like- Wise constitute a closure, if adhesively treated to unite the several convolutions of the spirally wound web.

For some purposes it may be desirable that the closure should have its maximum thickness at its outer periphery instead of its inner periphery, and the invention contemplates the construction of such a closure as shown at 31.

By manipulating the Winding operation, conducting it against a form, or deforming thewound roll before its convolutions are set in unitary assembly, any desired conformation may be produced. The embodiment 45 shown in Figure 6 is identical with that shown in Figure 4 except that one side is fiat. The embodiment 4U shown in Figure 7 is made from the same tapered strip but is convexly arched.

Any of the closures may be reenforced and greatly strengthened by inserting any type of fastener 48, such as Wire nails. Hereinafter I use the word nail generically to include equivalent devices, whether threaded or not. The nails preferably extend radially, and from the outer peripheries of the closures, as shown in Figure 8. The nails may be driven into the barrel head or. closure during its manufacture, or may enter the head through the barrel in which the headA is mounted for use.

It will be understood that any of the rolls shown may have their spirally, wound convolutions united by adhesive with which they may be impregnated after being wound as rolls, the ap-` paratus comprising rolls II I2, I3 and glue pot I4 being omitted in such cases. Or the web stock supplied from roll I may already be impregnated with a substance such that it will unite the several convolutions when the rolls Wound as shown in Figures 4 and 5 are heated. Shellac, and most of the thermo-setting plastics may be used in this manner to make unnecessary the application of adhesive to the webs en route to the respective rolls.

While paper is the preferred material to be used in accordance with this invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that thin flexible webs of fabric and plastics, and other materials may be used. Assuming that the material used is fibrous and porous, as are paper and fabrics and some plastics, it will be apparent that the closure, either in the process of manufacture or following the completion of manufacture, may be impregnated as desired to give it any appropriate finish or to make it proof against water or other liquid.

Due to its beam section the resulting closure is extremely strong, even Without reenforcement, and may readily be made as thick as desired at the center or periphery without any waste of paper stock or any unnecessary waste. The thickness at the center or the periphery may be varied either for the purpose of changing its strength characteristics or increasing the length of the bung hole. For a given strength of closure it is estimated that by means of the present invention I am able to save about 20 percent in weight and about 25 percent in material as compared with any other structure or method, the saving in expense being even greater in most instances.

No claim is made in the present application for the apparatus herein disclosed.

I claim:

1. A barrel head or the like comprising a closure of generaly circular contour and of tapering thickness from a central portion to a peripheral portion thereof, said closure comprising a spirally extending strip having its successive convolutions bonded unitarily to each other and progressively advancing helically whereby said closure is of conventional form, its outer and inner faces being arcuate.

2. A barrel head or the like comprising a paper strip of substantially continuously varying Width wound spirally in convolutions, successive convolutions being unitarily adherent to each other, and the resulting closure having a central opening adjacent to which said strip has its maximum width, said` closure tapering progressively to a minimum section adjacent its periphery.

3. The device of claim 2 in which the convolutions of the strip are impregnated, the impregnation providing the adherence between such convolutions.

4. A barrel head or the like comprising a thin annulus having a central opening and composed substantially entirely of a ribbon of progressiVely varying width extending in aV continuous spiral from said opening to the outer periphery of the annulus and provided with adhesive means bonding successive convolutions unitarily to constitute a head progressively varying in thickness from said opening to said outer periphery, the opposing faces of said annulus having a shallow taper frusto-conically.

DELOS C. GILES. 

